The Road Trip to Oz
by Complete Nerd
Summary: 18 year old Kyle sets out on a road trip to find his older brother and patch things up with him. As he journeys the country, he starts getting calls from an unknown number. Kyle soon finds himself as the hunted prey in a deranged "game". A game that will lead him to another dimension he never thought existed.
1. Chapter 1: Concert Carnival

_A/N: Hello, everyone. If you read my original three Oz stories, you'll know I finished that specific trilogy/arc. However, I did say I may continue with other sorts of Oz stories. And this is it. A spin-off of sorts focusing on Kyle from Season of Supremacy and Trial of Dorothy Gale. You do not have to read those stories for this to make sense, but it could help. This will be a shorter and more self-contained story, something more in line with actual Oz books rather than the grand scale theatrical sort of thing I did before._

_This story does take place in the same canon as Dreaming of Oz._

_Most importantly, this story is from the mind of Dequincyx, who helped me with my previous two stories. Sure, I may add stuff along the way, but this is is not a helper situation like before. This is by and large from the mind of Dequincyx._

_Without further ado, enjoy._

_..._

**Kansas, 2025.**

Was there anything better than a concert?

Kyle Bones couldn't imagine that there was.

The thrill and the rush of it all.. the booming, almost blood-wrenching sounds of the loud music blasting. The feeling that your troubles didn't exist anymore. Everything else was background noise. In that moment, nothing else mattered except jumping up and down. Screaming out lyrics until everyone's throats were in pain. Dancing around and maybe meeting a few people.

It was a feeling he couldn't place many other places, a feeling he didn't expect to find elsewhere for a long time.

But tonight, he would be on the opposite end of that feeling.

A different, feeling, but one that made him feel equally as euphoric.

Music. And performing it. Since the age of 12, he had been in a band that he had formed himself. "Bones."

And tonight, he would perform his very own concert at a carnival in Kansas.

With his friend, 17 year-old Charlotte Westborn, he let his nerves out by going on a few rides and to the pool with her.

The fast-paced coasters and the way they made his long, wavy, brown-reddish hair fly up in the air distracted him enough. But he found more relaxation in the pool with Charlotte, both of them resting on their floaties in the water.

His white skin was getting a decent tan from the sun, at least. It almost rivaled Charlotte's.

"Tanning is really not your strong-suit." The blonde teased.

"Yeah, okay. Maybe it's because I'm not a girl. Girls.. tan more naturally, right?" Kyle chuckled.

"I don't think that's how it works. Besides, your hair is longer than mine now! Are we sure I'm the girl here?" Charlotte laughed.

Kyle scoffed at her teasing, taking strands of her blonde bob. "Mhm, 'cause you had to go and cut it." He huffed and splashed some water at her playfully.

"At least I didn't cheat going down the water slide! I totally beat you, and you cheated. Quite shamelessly so." Charlotte stuck her tongue out.

"You're the cheater!" Kyle laughed.

Charlotte gave a playful look, then looked around to examine the area.

No one was watching, so Charlote pushed Kyle off his floaty and into the water. Kyle surfaced quickly back at her, making the girl laugh.

But then, the boy went back underwater and suddenly re-surfaced under her floaty to turn it over and make her fall back in the water.

The blonde laughed, trying to re-emerge out in the open before Kyle ducked her underwater again.

Once she surfaced back up, she ducked Kyle in retaliation.

Kyle flailed his arms around, as if he was being drowned. Charlotte knew her friend's sense of humor and she just laughed.

Kyle surfaced back up with his eyes squeezed shut. He panted, and he opened his eyes. Only to have his usual brown eyes rolled back into his head, making them milky white.

"Oh my God, Kyle!" Charlotte dropped her playful tone.

Kyle panted, his brown eyes rolling back into their proper position.

"Oh, my God." Charlotte gave several deep sighs of relief when Kyle's eyes returned to normal. "I held you under for way too long, I'm so sorry!" She wrapped her hands around his waist.

Kyle panted. "I was so.. so close t-to passing out.. a-and my whole life... flashed before my eyes. And I felt like the breath of life was leaving my body, and, and, and..." He rambled on like a child. "It was _awesome!"_

Charlotte gave an un-amused stare. "Twelve years of knowing you and I fell for it again."

Kyle laughed relentlessly and Charlotte squinted, immediately pulling her hands off him as she shook her head. "You always pull the most ghoulish tricks. I thought that was real! And how you always talk about this stuff. You're gonna end up being either one of those morgue doctors that dissects dead bodies.. a funeral director.. or a serial killer." She scoffed.

"That last one has a nice ring to it. Kyle the Serial Killer." Kyle smirked, looking up in the air and seemingly imagining it.

"C'mon, psycho. Let's get somethin' to eat." Charlotte snickered and shook her head. The two got out of the pool to to dry themselves and get dressed.

Kyle paused for a second, and he could've swore he felt something or someone watching them.

"Are you alright? Is this another trick?" She scoffed at him, tilting her head.

"Yeah.. it's just my nerves, I think." Kyle scoffed and shrugged it off.

...

As the two sat on the table, Charlotte ate up her meal. But Kyle hadn't ordered anything.

"Why aren't you eating?" She squinted. "You haven't eaten since we got here."

"Singers can't eat or drink anything before performing." Kyle said in an almost snappy tone, bouncing his foot on the floor nervously.

Charlotte finished chowing down her meal and paused. She looked at him for a while before she spoke. "..You know. I wish you didn't have to leave tomorrow." She frowned slightly. "School just can't be the same without you. Why'd ya have to graduate before me?" She pouted.

Kyle gave her an understanding look. "I know you miss me there, but look on the bright side. You'll be graduating soon and it'll all be behind you. It feels like a weight lifted off of you once you get out."

"That's true." Charlotte gave a smile now, seemingly cheered up from his reminder.

Kyle was going on a road trip the next morning. Both to see the world after being confined to classrooms for eighteen years.. and to find his long lost brother.

A piece of his family and himself he had been missing for too long.

Kyle had grown up his father's favorite child, and they did everything together.

Everything his Dad loved doing, that was. His father wanted Kyle to be just like him, as if grooming him to do whatever he pleased.

And Kyle also grew watching his father abuse, neglect and ignore his brother, Michael. Kyle secretly hated being the favorite child, but kept his thoughts to himself - as he was secretly afraid of his father just as much as Michael was. He had seen his father beat his bother senseless over the years. This made Kyle and Michael have a murky relationship, to put it lightly.

Michael picked on Kyle when they were growing up because Kyle was their Dad's favorite, which made Kyle fear and resent Michael as they got older. In 2017, when Kyle was 9, his Dad left and it was just him, his brother, and their Mom. In 2018, Kyle's brother soon graduated high school at the age of 18 that same year and went off to college in Oregon. Michael walked out on Kyle and their mother. And Kyle hadn't seen or heard from him since. At the age of 11, Kyle changed his middle and last name from Lance Martin to Bog Bones, as he didn't want his father's first and last name anymore. His father had walked out on him then, and his brother following suit not long after certainly didn't help him feel better.

During his thoughts, Kyle could've swore he sensed something lurking.

He looked around again and.. nothing.

"Kyle, what's wrong?" Charlotte asked again with the upmost concern.

"It's.. it's nothing." Kyle assured. "Nerves again.." he muttered.

...

Kyle was a bit surprised at how many people were at this event.

They were gathered under a big white tent. And while he knew there were other performers people had come to see, it was incredible to know he would soon be performing to so many people. Knowing Charlotte, along with her mother, were both there watching did put him at ease.

He had somewhat of a fanbase of sorts in his area, thanks to putting his band's stuff on Youtube.

But he was ready now. Sure, they had done small gigs. But never for a crowd like this.

His male bandmates had entered the stage and every last one of them was quiet in their preparation. Kyle wasn't especially close to them. He felt a band should be as close as family, but he had never quite captured that essence. They were more like rowdy kids he found amusement with, but who were by in large co-workers.

Nevertheless, he was ready now.

He took a deep breath, looking out into the crowd.

They were chattering among themselves, seemingly not paying attention.

The two other males on guitar, one at the drums, were ready behind him. Kyle clutched his mic. "A 1, 2, 3, go!"

The band started blasting the music. A cover, Only the Young by Journey. Kyle hoped it would be enough to get the crowd on their feet, something that'd be more familiar.

"People of Kansas, are you ready to rock?!"

There were a few half-hearted whistles and cheers, but nothing substantial.

Kyle hoped he could turn the tides of the crowd.

"Alright, let's do this!" Kyle shouted.

_Another night in any town_

_You can hear the thunder of their cry_

_Ahead of their time_

_They wonder why_

_In the shadows of a golden age_

_A generation waits for dawn_

_Brave carry on_

_Bold and the strong_

Kyle used all the charisma he had, mustering up all his influences over the years to give it his all as he moved all around the stage. He interacted with the crowd, showing off his voice. Which was pristine, full of range. He was especially talented with rock, and he made sure to show off what he had.

_Only the young can say_

_Only the young can say_

_Only the young can say_

_Only the young can say_

And soon enough, the crowd was up on their feet and the band was met with thunderous applause.

"BONES! BONES! BONES! BONES!"

Kyle grinned in amazement. He had succeeded in getting the crowd on his side.

But he soon realized... the validation he had felt from these strangers was not the same as getting validation from his brother.

He wondered if he would be as successful in that department.


	2. Chapter 2: Hit'n the Road

In the countryside of Kyle's farmhouse, the young man could feel the tension as he sat across his mother.

Today was the day he would leave for his road trip.

Usually, he and his mother would converse while they ate breakfast together. But today was different.

She had seemed very hesitant, but acknowledged that Kyle had been an independent young man.

Still, there were so many reservations. Kyle could see it in his mother's face.

"Alright. What's buggin' you so much?" He finally spoke up after the silence had finally pestered him enough.

His mother sighed, swirling the spoon in her bowl. "It's always hard when a child leaves their parent, you know that."

"I've told ya, mom. There's no point staying in this dump. I wanna see the world. I've got all my money saved up. I wanna meet new faces. See new things. Experience new experiences. Classic case of wanderlust. I'll come back to ya." Kyle insisted.

"But.." she sighed. "I'd hate to sound like a broken record. But you know it can be unsafe out there.. on the road. You don't even have anyone to go with you, out there all by yourself. You know how many things could happen?"

"We've talked about it!" Kyle threw his hands up defensively. "Look, I've got it covered, remember? I've got so much money saved up. I've got two phones. Two! Good connection, by the way. I'll have money for gas, for food. I promise I'll be okay."

"But.. what if something happens to you? What if this road trip winds up... killing you?" His mother choked out the phrase, clearly not wanting to bring up such an idea. She had a lump in her throat already.

"C'mon, mom. Kansas is.. you know. Notorious for being... you know. Boring! I've.. I've gotta do this, alright?" He sighed. "There's no point in living if I'm living like I'm dead. Gotta take a chance on in a while in life."

His mother paused, thinking on it for a while. "It's just.. I know you want to find your brother."

"I told you, if I find him, that's just a bonus. It's not why I'm doing this." Kyle argued, though he knew that wasn't true. If anything, findng his brother _was _the goal and everything else he was discussing was the bonus. But he had to convince his mother.

"It's just.. we haven't seen or heard from Michael in over seven years. It's not healthy to be this obsessive, to go on a road trip just to try and find him. How is that even going to work? Are you just going to drive around until you find him? It's nonsensical, Kyle." His mother responded.

"I told you that's not the reason! I miss him a lot, though. And I find him along the way, then it'd be nice! But it's just.. a bonus. Like I said." Kyle sighed, hoping his acting skills were adequate enough.

His mother sighed, rubbing her arm in a stressed out manner. "..Okay, Kyle. I'll believe and trust you. But don't you do anything stupid or dangerous to try and find your brother. Do you hear me?" She raised a brow further.

"You have my word, mom. I promise." Kyle said seriously, leaning in to show the sincere look in his eyes.

"..Alright, honey."

His mother seemed to believe it, and he was content with that.

...

Kyle had packed everything now. He took his sweet time. This was an emotional moment for him. He had been on vacations with his family before, but never anything like this.

He came downstairs with his backpack on, a duffel bag wrapped around his shoulders.

His mother seemed to have been waiting for him, slunk slightly against the table.

She slowly stepped over to him, adjusting the backpack on his shoulders and giving him motherly touches. "Are you sure you wanna do this?" She asked with the softest voice imaginable.

Kyle nodded slowly. "I'm sure."

"I.. I just. I was hoping you'd think about college after you finished high school.." She admitted lowly.

"College isn't gonna go anywhere for me. It's not for everybody! This is what I wanna do, mom." Kyle told her. Clearly, his mother hadn't given up on her reservations. This frustrated the boy, admittedly.

"Okay, okay." His mother sighed. At least she wasn't forcing him to do anything, he mused. "..What about your band?" She questioned next.

"I told them before last night, they get it. We're still gonna work on our stuff over the internet and stuff, we'll be alright." Kyle insisted.

A long bit of silence overtook the room. And now, his mother had tears in her eyes before she hugged him tightly.

"Just.. be safe, alright? I love you." She whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek.

"I love you, too." He whispered back.

Part of him wondered if the reason she was so scared was because one of her children left her before.

He pulled back, looking at her face now. "I'll be back. I promise."

She gave a slight smile in return. "..Okay." Those words seemed to comfort her, and they hugged tightly once again

Slowly, Kyle stepped away, hand lingering on her arm and slowly pulling back. "I'll see ya soon, okay?" He gave her a reassuring smile.

She gave a small wave, and Kyle returned it. He stepped outside almost immediately after. He couldn't dread on the temporary goodbye now. He had to focus on his primary objective.

...

Outside, Charlotte was waiting for him.

"Hey. What.. are you doing here?" Kyle wondered, a bit surprised to see her.

"I came to see you before you left." Charlotte smiled simply, shrugging. "Listen. I know I can't make you change your mind. And that you feel you need to do to get closure. So.. I'm settling with seeing you again before you leave." She smiled slightly.

"Well.. thanks. I really appreciate you being so understanding." Kyle smiled. He appreciated the contrast between Charlotte and his mother. He was thankful his mother cared, but it was nice to hear the intense understanding Charlotte had always given him. Perhaps that was a big reason their friendship had lasted so long.

Charlotte smiled in response to him, clasping and rubbing her hands together as she looked at him. "So.. how long are you gonna be gone?" She titled her head, as if nervous to even ask.

"I dunno... as long as it takes." Kyle said in a softer tone, emotions churning as he studied the blonde's face. "I told my mom it'd be a month at most so she wouldn't freak out. But we'll see." He chuckled slightly.

"Right.." Charlotte chuckled, looking down at her feet and seemingly not knowing what else to say. "Well... good luck. And have a safe... Journey."

Kyle squinted. "Is that a pun because I sang one of their songs last night?"

"Yup!" Charlotte laughed, throwing her head back. "I know how much you hate puns. Just had to." She teasingly nudged him.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Kyle scoffed, smiling despite himself. He'd really miss this banter with his best friend. But he couldn't dwell on it now. If he thought about it too much, he'd never focus on his goal out on the road.

"I'll see ya around, Charlotte." Kyle smiled at her, slowly stepping off his porch and waving. The blonde gave a similar wave to his mother.

He just turned around next, putting his backpack and his duffle-bag in the trunk of his camo truck.

He got inside, driving off. And so began his road trip.


	3. Chapter 3: A Familiar Face

**Time since leaving Kansas: 8 hours and 29 minutes.**

Kyle had found himself in the egde of Colorado, at the cusp of Utah. He hadn't done much outside of drive and stop to eat. But so far, there were no complications.

The barrage of Goosebumps books he had backed were enough to hold him over during any breaks he had, curing him of his boredom until he drove on.

He soon stuck at truck-stop restaurant/gas station to get something to eat. While waiting for his order, he texted his mom to let her know he was okay.

His main destination was for Oregon.

Oregon was where his brother went to college. And this was his best shot.

It was over 20 hours away by vehicle. An ambitious drive, but a risk he was willing to take.

But as he finished his meal and was prepared to drive off once more, his phone buzzed.

He answered the call as he slipped inside the camo truck. He expected it to be his mother or Charlotte, not bothering to look at the number.

"So." A deep voice said, immediately making Kyle shudder and recoil slightly. "You made it out of Kansas."

The voice was deep, sounding somehow distorted. There was a certain eloquence to it, however. Some sort of accent that didn't seem quite English, but also didn't exactly sound American.

"..Who... who is this?" Kyle asked, his voice that of weariness and caution.

"My name's not important. Think of me as.. your therapist. You, the troubled teen. And I your shrink." The mysterious caller retorted.

"Go ahead and start up that truck of yours. Ditch that truck-stop. And head to Utah." The caller said, before abruptly ending the call.

Kyle gasped, looking around and snapping his head everywhere frantically.

How did this person know where he was?! What kind of vehicle he drove?!

His hands trembled as he yanked the door open, stepping out and looking alll over the area. He couldn't see anything, anyone that was mysterious or suspiscious.

He paced around the area, lingering as if afraid to continue.

Only, he wasn't exactly afraid.

Very cautious, yes.

But... he had always liked risk. Danger.

Part of his ghoulish mindset, really.

For a long time, he loved danger. Thrill. Doing dares, dangerous stunts on skateboards. Leaping down steps, jumping over couches. He had broken a few bones over the years with it, and it was something his mother always scolded him for. And probably a large part of her hesitance.

He wondered if this caller was a stalker. A psycho. Or a serial killer. Or maybe all three.

He had read many horror books, seen many movies just like this. People stalked on road trips by psychopaths.

Was that what this was? Being stalked by some stalking-psycho-serial killer leaving him cryptic phone calls?

If so, he was in serious trouble. The psycho would likely do what was usually done in the horror books and movies he was so obsessed with: Continue stalking him and go on playing mind-games with him before eventually killing him off and burying his body in the woods. Maybe sinking it in quicksand or a peat-bog in a swamp. With no end to his madness.

"This.. is gonna be the coolest road trip ever." Kyle smirked to himself.

The best road trips to Kyle were the horror ones.

His mother would certainly not enjoy how enthused he was over this.

But what was the point of life without a little danger? A little excitement?

He started up the car again and drove off.

...

**Time since leaving Kansas: 8 hours and 41 minutes.**

Kyle did in fact wind up going to Utah. It wasn't far off at all at that point.

He found himself in a small town, his mind racing between the goal of finding his brother and wondering who it could be on the other end of that strange phone call.

He finished eating another meal in his car when his attention was suddenly diverted by a familiar figure coming out the Dairy Queen he had eaten at.

A male biker with black sunglasses on. Long, messy brown shoulder-length hair and a red bandanna on his head. A faded blue jacket, black finger-less gloves and black shir, with blue faded pants and black cowboy pants.

He met the typical description of a biker, and he also met the description of something that shook Kyle to his core.

This.. was Lance Martin...Kyle's deadbeat father.

Kyle gasped, practically shaking now.

He had started off this journey to find his brother. And here, he had already found his father? This wasn't what he had expected, not what he was yearning for primarily.

But he still yearned for some of that family that had left him. Due to his own resentment towards his father, this wasn't ideal. But it was a start.

And maybe.. just maybe, he knew where Kyle's brother was.

This was his best shot. He couldn't believe his luck.

He only briefly wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him, if this was his own desperation fooling him.

But he couldn't just stand by. Like he told his mother, he had to take the chance. This road trip was all about chances.

He paused. He was somewhat haunted, seeing the man that had all but ditched him. But he would not let his emotions get the better of him.

Lance got into a red car, and Kyle followed after him in his truck.

Fairly quickly, he was led further into the outskirts away from the small town. Kyle was now following his father on a dirt road. He'd slow down a bit, let a few cars in front of him to not look too suspicious. But he kept his determined attitude and not once, did he let that red car leave his sight.

Soon enough, the red car pulled into a small neighborhood. Kyle stopped, watching the red car closely as it eventually parked in front of one of the small houses lined up alongside each other.

Kyle paused, bracing himself.

How should he go about this? He contemplated it for a while, before he decided to just drive up to the house his father had parked at a few minutes later.

He wasn't going to confront his dad about leaving. No, he had to focus on his goal of his brother.

His brother was the one he had wanted a relationship with. Not his father. A lost cause that Kyle resented.

Kyle walked out of his truck and up to the house. He knocked on the door, and Lance answered pretty quickly.

Almost immediately, Kyle recoiled slightly and leaned his own frame back away from the man.

Seeing his father like this was.. was so odd.

"Uh... who might you be, son?" The man squinted. He looked Kyle up and down.

That made Kyle shudder. His father was looking at him again, after all this time. He wondered how Lance had changed. How he had stayed the same. If he remembered the same things Kyle remembered. If he even spared a thought to the family he had left behind.

But then, the man removed his sunglasses and squinted.

Somehow, that shook Kyle to his core. Seeing his father's eyes.

The same eyes that had caused him distress, pressure. Never showing real life. Only using Kyle as an oppruntity for himself. To live vicariously through his soon.

"Oh my God, Kyle!" Lance exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. "It's you! It's you, it's my boy! You're all grown up!"

Lance suddenly leaned in and hugged Kyle tightly, surprising him.

Kyle was bitter at that. As if Lance wasn't the one who had left him in the first place. As if this reunion was something that even needed to happen. As if it wouldn't have happened if his father just stayed.

He felt nothing but coldness in the hug as a result.

"You're all growed up, wow!" His father chuckled with a bit of a southern twang.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm all grown up." Kyle replied in a bitter manner, cold.

Slowly, Lance pulled back. "Do you.. do ya wanna come inside?

Kyle was hesitant. Something about being with him now had stirred something strange in him. But nevertheless, he agreed to it. If he was going to get any information about his brother, he had to.

...

Kyle was apprehensive, to say the least, when he walked inside.

It was an alright place, but there was a certain aroma to it that just made it not so easy on the eyes for him. He had a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He supposed it was all due to the bad taste his father had left in his mouth.

Lance leaned over a mini-fridge almost as soon as Kyle walked in.

Kyle squinted. His father was acting so casual about it all. As if it hadn't been years since they had seen each other. As if he wasn't the one who walked out on Kyle to begin with.

Lance treated it more like a casual meeting between work buddies, rather than a reunion between long lost father and son.

Kyle could feel his heart drop slightly, just hoping it wouldn't feel like this when he found his brother.

Lance pulled back from the mini-fridge, offering Kyle a beer. "Here, have a drink."

Kyle was somewhat stunned, squinting at his father. "Um.. I'm not 21 yet. I can't.. drink." He shrugged.

"Aw, c'mon. Like ya said, you're all growed up. Consider it your transformation into bein' a man!" Lance gave a chuckle, giving his son a pat on the shoulder.

Kyle, if he was being honest with himself, felt a little too hurt now.

His father had all but ditched him. Kyle swore he felt nothing for the man, but seeing Lance act so casual with him without a hint of remorse... it hurt him.

And what did the adults he knew do when they were upset?

Drink, of course.

Kyle, on instinct, just swiped the beer from his father and chugged it down.

"That's the spirit!" Lance laughed, slapping his own knee. "Wow, son! You sure chug them suckers quick. Let's see how long you can keep it up."

So, Kyle did in fact "keep it up."

He chugged another beer.

And another.

To drown his sorrows, to make him forget he had gone on this road trip to feel a hole in his heart left by his family.

And because of it, he ended up passing out.


	4. Chapter 4: Black and Blue

_7-Year old Kyle was awakened in his bedroom in the middle of a stormy night by the sound of screaming and yelling. Kyle looked at his calendar and saw that the year-date was 2014. He recognized the screaming voice as his father's, then walked downstairs, into the living-room, and saw his father screaming at his 14-year old soaking wet brother, Michael, who has long orange hair that goes down to his neck and blue eyes. _

_Kyle hid behind the steps, peaking over to view the scene._

_Kyle could tell that Michael was drunk due to his slurring speech and stumbling movements. He watched as his father yelled at Michael about staying out too late and coming home drunk at night in the middle of a storm, as well as criticize Michael about how he's so different from Kyle and how he would've never pulled such a stupid stunt._

_"I swear, son. You drive me to this! Why can't ya just be like Kyle? He don't start this shit! He sits up there and minds his damn business! Does what the hell I say!"_

_Kyle couldn't help but feel a sharp twinge of guilt. Surely, Michael resented him deeply for the constant comparisons. Being hyped up by his father didn't help when he knew it was being used to hurt his brother. Resulting in Michael being such a bully towards Kyle._

_Before long, Lance was tossing Michael to the floor and pummeling his fists into his teen body. To make matters worse, Lance was still ranting and raving about all the negative aspects he found in Kyle's brother. Just before he lifted up to kick him right in his side. Michael let out a hoarse cough in response, which made Kyle cringe._

_"Think you're a damn rebel, huh? I'll show ya what ya get when you don't do what your daddy says!"_

_As he watched his brother take this abuse, he could only sit back and hide his face in the steps._

_..._

Kyle jolted awake in a basement bedroom. Sweat was pouring down his forehead. He felt hot, then looked down to see a white sheet covering his body that he hastily kicked away to try and cool down.

He briefly wondered how he got here, then assumed his father had taken him here after their bittersweet beer-drinking reuinion.

It must have been what caused his dream. But it felt more like a horrifying vivid memory replaying in his brain.

It only made him all the more unsettled. And went to show how far he was willing to go to reunite with his brother Michael. His father made him deeply uncomfortable, but he'd take any possible source of information he could get.

Perhaps if he was going to find his brother, he needed to get into his head. See how Michael's mind worked.

And meeting up with his father presented him with that perfect chance.

He swiped his cellphone off the dresser and was soon enough swept up in research. All about parents favoring a child over another. The research talked about how favoring one child over the other can have lasting consequences...for both the favorite child and the non-favorite child. First the research delved into the signs of child favoritism. Such as the parent favoring the child acting more like a friend than a parent, the parent paying more attention to the favorite child and ignoring the non-favorite child, the favoritism creating resentment in relationships with siblings, the favorite child feeling like they have to be good at everything to please the parent that is favoring them, and feeling like they have to love doing what the parent favoring them loves doing. Kyle then came across the motives as to why the parent favors one child over the other.

_1: To live vigorously through the child._

_2: To groom the child into being whatever they want them to._

_3: To live a dream through the child they never got to live themselves._

_4: To turn the child into them._

Kyle felt stunned after reading, as every word in the article was his father all over. Growing up, his father had always acted more like a friend instead of a parent when it came to him.

He wondered how fate had led him here. He wouldn't have considered how their father had effected his brother so much had he not re-lived exactly what his father was.

...

Kyle was hesitant to see his father after the horrid dream, but he couldn't lounge in bed forever.

Lance had been sitting and eating at breakfast. Kyle peered through the doorway, feeling that he had to rehearse what he'd say to his father. The awkward, distant aura had already been there. But now it felt multiplied.

"Hey, come join me." His father called out without even looking in Kyle's direction.

"Crap." Kyle muttered under his breath. He must've heard his footsteps.

At least he could eat now, he rationalized.

He stepped over and looked at the food. It looked too good to be homemade.

He ate up in silence with his father.

"Thanks." He muttered once the meal was finished. But he looked over at the man and felt anger boiling inside his system. He had already resented his father heavily, but it only intensified after the dream.

"How'd ya sleep?" Lance mumbled, beginning to finish own food.

"Not so good." Kyle admitted, ghosting his hands around his temples. "Nightmare. Headache." He mentioned. The hang-over wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. He was just grateful to have some sort of tolerance.

"Oooh.." Lance cooed. "I got just the thing for that!" He cackled, leaning over to the mini-fridge to grab a beer and hand it to his son. "This always makes the pain go away." He chuckled. "People say it's not good for ya, but I don't know anyone who's happier when they're sober. Shit, the only thing that's not good for ya is not bein' happy!"

Kyle squinted. His father certainly had a thing for faux philosophy and pseudo rationalizations.

He was unsure if he should accept the beer. Seeing his father had him overflowing with emotion, but he needed to be more level headed now. And he didn't want the headache to get any worse.

Before Kyle could properly respond, his father continued to babble.

"You can have the basement bedroom. I'll sleep upstairs." Lance nodded, seeming a little.. jolly, almost.

Kyle furrowed his brows. "..Huh?"

"I'll drive into town later and get ya some clothes and shoes." His father continued.

Then, Kyle connected the dots. His father assumed that he had come here to live wit him.

"Uh.. look, pal." Kyle scoffed, letting out a chuckle that almost sounded taunting. Calling him "pal" instead of "dad" somehow empowered him. He decided he could only take so much of this man's nonsense. And after the nightmare, or the the memory, more accurately, he was ready to put his foot down at anything his dad said that would agitate him or get in his way.

"I didn't come here to shack up with you or be your drinking buddy. I came here to see if you know where Mikey is. Got kinda carried away with the drinks last night, but that's my goal here." Kyle said sternly.

Lance was visibly confused. "Michael ain't livin' with your mother? I assumed he would be. Playin' video games all day. He was never "The Good Son", ya know." Lance chuckled and nudged Kyle. As if Kyle would appreciate the insult to his long lost brother. "Rebellious. A bad seed, so to speak. You're the prodigy and last hope for the family." Lance turned more serious towards the end of his ramblings, nodding at him and staring right into Kyle's eyes as if to hammer home the message.

"I should've known you'd start bad-mouthing Mikey." Kyle squinted.

Lance pursed his lips, looking around and squinting. "Well, I.." He laughed, shaking his head and looking at the table and back at Kyle. "You two are so different from each other. Like night and day!"

"Don't you know what happened?" Kyle asked, tired of the comparisons. He was growing ancy hearing all of this now.

Lance squinted again, shaking his head.

"Of course you wouldn't know!" Kyle suddenly spat, getting louder. "You don't know because you weren't there!" Kyle exclaimed as he stood up from the table, as if to physically stand up to his father along with his words. "After you left, Mom got involved with a guy who _hated _me! And you weren't there to defend me! Praise me and hype me up like you always would! You left me and Mikey alone! And you treated him like _garbage!_ Mikey left for college after graduating and me and mom haven't heard from him since! That's why I was around here! I'm on a trip to find him! To have a real relationship with him! Because thanks to you, we never had a real relationship! Because you always exluded him from everything we would do! Always told him how much better I was!"

His father just seemed bemused, then chuckled. "Alright.. alright. Family drama, it happens after re-connections." He chuckled, nodding more as if he was still listening to what Kyle had to say.

Kyle grew outraged. This wasn't the reaction he wanted. He wanted his dad to feel like trash. To feel the way he made Mikey feel.

"Dad. Tell me about myself. Tell me what I like to do." Kyle said, after taking a deep breath and lowering his voice, fists clenched and trembling.

Lance just shrugged, seeming confused. "Uh, well, ya like huntin'.. swimmin'... baseball, basketball, football, soccer, all th-"

"No! Those are the things _you _love! I never did what I actually wanted to do because I spent my life trying to please you!" Kyle yelled. "The great thing about you leaving is that I got to do things for myself. Figure out what I wanted. Find myself. I make music now. I have a band. That's my passion."

As Kyle spoke, Lance seemed to be growing outraged.

"What?!" Lance spat. "You lied to me?" He leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "You're supposed to be the good one. The good one to carry on the family legacy!"

"No, that's what you wanted me to be! I never wanted that for myself!" Kyle screamed and waved his hands around in anger.

Lance gave him a stern and angry look. He no longer seemed joyous, he was now giving Kyle the same familiar look.. the look he'd always give Michael when they were children.

"Now you listen here.." Lance pointed at him, trembling as if the news had disturbed him and shook him to his core. "I didn't spend years raisin' you to do all that stuff for you to just.. waste you time bein' a singer or travelin' or... lookin' for your brother. He picked on you sense he was 4!"

"He was a bully, yeah! Because he resented me because of you! You turned him into a bully. He treated me like trash because he hated me. Because you made him! How else would he feel about the person he's constantly compared to?!" He exclaimed in anger. It felt incredible for Kyle to finally be letting this out. "You messed him up! Just like you messed me up! Trying to live successfully through me, since your own life has been a _failure_! So look at me now, dad! Am I perfect now? Am I the perfect child you raised me to be?" He gestured to himself. "No, I'm not! I'm messed up.." Kyle's voice broke and tears formed. "BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU DID THIS TO ME, YOU MADE ME THIS WAY! SOMEONE WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO LOVE AND BE THERE FOR ME! NOT SCAR ME AND REPAY ME BY WALKING OUT ON ME!"

Kyle's face was red now, a few tears leaking down him. He was all up in dad's face now, giving him a piece of his mind.

"YA KNOW WHAT? I DON'T HAVE TO HEAR THIS! YOU SHOULDA STAYED GONE, BOY!"

In outrage, Lance shot up and angrily tossed the table to the other side of the room. It crashed into the side and Kyle reeled back, stunned.

"JUST LIKE YOUR DAMN BROTHER!"

Before he could do anything, Lance pounced on Kyle and began pummeling his fists into his ches in the way he used to do to Michael.

"Ah, ah, stop! Stop! STOP!" Kyle growled out. He couldn't allow this. This abuse. His heart was racing. His father was older, but still very strong.

He was most surprised when Lance suddenly gripped his hands around Kyle's throat and squeezed.

Good god, his father was going to murder him!

He created him, and now he was going to end him. Full circle.

But not if Kyle had anything to say about it.

Kyle remembered where that cursed mini fridge was. With all those stupid beers his father loved so much.

Lance had maybe chosen the wrong area to try to kill his son. Because Kyle yanked the fridge open and was prepared to smash the bottle over his father's head.

But instead, Lance grabbed the bottle.

"I see what you're doing!" Lance smacked Kyle right across the face. "Die like a man. Use your hands like this!"

It was as if his father was giving him one last lesson before he killed him.

Kyle could feel his breath about to give out. Soon enough, he wasn't aware of his surroundings.


	5. Chapter 5: A Madman's Game

_4-year old Kyle was sitting happily in his room. He was playing on his new drum-set, practicing a new song._

_"Baby, ya light up my world like nobody else.." His voice was high, but strong for such a young boy. His father came into the room and grinned. _

_"But when ya smile at the ground, it ain't hard to tell. You don't know.. you don't know you're beautiful!"_

_Kyle finished his performance, his father clapping and cheering loudly. "Way to go, squirt!" His father laughed and picked him up, kissing his face lovingly. "That sounds great. Aren't you just a talented little thing?"_

_His mother suddenly appeared. "He sure is. He's gonna be a great, big star one day."_

_"He's a prodigy!" His father beamed._

_"Our little prodigy." His mom smiled._

_"Let's go get Mikey. We can all have a nice picnic today, huh?" His father smiled._

_..._

Kyle jolted awake.

He had been dreaming again, but this had been the opposite kind of dream.

And here he was, dreaming of a better father. A better family. A better life. Where they all loved each other.

His father had tried to _kill_ him. He was out of the question, but it just made him more determined to find Mikey and make some peace in that department.

_But wait.._

"How the hell did I.." He looked around and realized he was in his camo truck.. and it was parked deep inside the forest.

He needed to get moving, he realized. And he would. But he needed to calm down still.

But he couldn't. How had this happened? One moment, his dad was ready to kill him. The next, he was parked in a forest and his dad's house was nowhere in sight.

And as if on cue, his phone rang.

He snapped his head over and grabbed the phone.

_"Unknown caller."_

This was probably the creepy voice from earlier.

Kyle felt his stomach turn. He had almost forgotten.

Was this mysterious person watching him? It was as if they had waited for him to finish up with his father before going to his next task. Or to wake up.

"That'd be so cool." Kyle murmured, answering it fairly quickly.

"Who is it?" He asked eagerly.

Lo and behold, it was the same caller. "You know who."

Kyle was interested, but still creeped out, admittedly. How did this caller get him at just the right time? Fairly quickly after he woke up, too. What had happened with his father?!

"How did.."

"How did I know you woke up, hm?" The caller finished for him. "How did you get there? Because I saved you from your father and put you back in your truck."

Kyle gasped. So this figure was following him. And touching him. He had saved him.

"W...why would you save me?" Kyle asked. It seemed like this person wanted to harm him, if anything.

"We can't finish your therapy if you're dead, now can we?" The caller responded. "You being killed off is not part of the plan. At least.. not by someone else."

Kyle got a little uneasy. "If you're gonna kill me, just do it and get it over with. And if you're gonna get rid of my body afterward, take it to a swamp and sink it into quicksand, a peat-bog, or a marsh where it will rot away into a skeleton with nothing but hair and clothes on. "

The caller seemed blown away by Kyle's ghoulish thoughts. "Wow.. I knew something was different about you when I watched you at the carnival."

Kyle squinted. "I.. I knew it. I felt like I was being watched. I thought it was just my nerves from performing." He gasped, shaking his head.

"I'm surprised you haven't called the cops." The caller randomly mused.

"I'm not like everyone else. I don't believe in cops, I don't believe in sending other people to fight my battles for me. I like to deal with my problems and face them alone." Kyle retorted.

It had been true all his life. Most likely due to all the years of keeping quiet about hating being his father's favorite child out of fear of being his old man's next bunching-bag.

"Well, I knew there was something different about you. That's why I chose you. You're not like the other people I've targeted over the years. This is going to be fun." The caller growled lowly, as if quaking in excitement.

Kyle was shocked now. So this person had been doing this. And killing people for years, presumably. And never being caught. Assuming he was telling the truth.

He shuddered more, knowing that this caller was probably watching him and had just recently touched him.

Kyle was getting freaked out now, and it felt less and less like a game.

"Congratulations on confronting your father. Telling him the truth about how you've really felt all these years. I led you to him, and you did just as I wanted." The caller said.

"Wh.. what happened to him? What did you do to him?" Kyle asked, not shocked that meeting his father was part of the caller's plan. Because of course it was. It was like a game of chess, and the caller had everything planned out.

"..Wait. How did you know I felt like that all those years?! Wh.. what?!" Kyle grew more frustrated, shaking his head and getting all the more confused.

"The reveal has not yet come." The caller stated. "And your father is fine. Still at his house."

Kyle shivered. So he'd get answers. But probably only right before being sliced up to bits..

"We're way behind schedule, though. You were supposed to be out of Utah yesterday. Start the truck."

The caller ended the call.

Kyle shivered and gulped. This was horrifying. But the caller clearly knew where he was, what he was doing. There was no use in denying the requests.

"Behind schedule." Kyle scoffed to himself.

At least for now, he'd play the game. It was scary, but fun in a demented way. He would play the game for now, and if he got in any danger.. he could take care of himself.

His stubborn, determined-to-be-tough and take care of things himself attitude combined with his thrist for danger was sometimes risky.

...

**Time since leaving Utah: 6 Hours and 50 minutes **

Kyle had eventually arrived in Nevada. The radio, texts to Charlotte, and fast food restaurants somehow prevented his loneliness from taking over.

He called his mother, giving her updates. But he of course left out everything about being stalked by a psycho and everything about Lance. How his own father nearly killed him. He didn't know if she'd ever tell her. It was bad enough his mother was hesitant about letting him go on this road trip in the first place. She would freak out if he told her what was happening. And if she knew the man she used to love tried to kill their son? He didn't know what she'd do.

After his latest stop for food, he arrived back from the McDonald's to open his truck and see something in his passenger seat as he slipped inside.

An old film camera and and an old film-casing, along with an old piece of paper taped to it that had "_1950_" written on it in dark black ink.

"How in the world did you get here.." he murmured, lifting the camera and inspecting it. He had left his truk locked the whole time.

Had the psycho stalker gifted it to him?

He brushed it off for the time being and started his truck.

...

Later, night-time had fallen, and Kyle was camping out in the woods of Nevada. He was just grateful to be out of his truck for the time being. It felt so good to stretch his legs.

He had a camo-tent set up, a lit camp-fire, and he was sitting sitting in a camping-chair, cooking fish on the camp-fire in a cast-iron skillet that he caught in the lake. Unlike the rest of the world, Kyle wasn't too good for the good out-doors. Growing up, he always loved camping and preferred it over staying in a motel. Also, he was saving a lot of money by doing this, he mused.

Once the fish was good and fried, Kyle got some ketchup, a paper plate and a plastic fork and ate it up. Once he had eaten the fish, he opened a bag of popcorn, poured it in a black pot, covered it with foil and placed it on the campfire. While the popcorn is popping, Kyle got a white bed-sheet that been in his truck and sets it up between two trees. He grabbed the mysterious camera and film-casing out of his truck.

He set the camera up on its stand, aiming it at the sheet. He then got the film out of the casing and sets it up in the camera. When the popcorn stopped popping, Kyle removes the pot from the camp-fire and placed it on the ground in front of his camping-chair. He then activated the camera, then sat down in his chair, removing the foil from the pot, and began eating the popcorn as the film from the camera played on the sheet.

The year "1950" appears on the sheet-screen with a black screen and white text.

"Fun." Kyle sarcastically mumbled.

But his eyes were soon glued to the screen.

The film showcased a man, his wife and their 10-year old son exiting their home, with the man and boy carrying camping equipment. It was black and white.

Kyle wanted to assume this footage was from 1950, but the quality from the sheet wasn't exactly stellar. It was hard to tell if it was actually old, or simply made to look that way.

The boy had blond hair that was slicked back with brown eyes. The man kissed his wife goodbye. He and his son loaded stuff into a station wagon, got inside, and drove off. The scene cut to the station wagon parking outside a restaurant. The man and his son got out and went inside, and the scene cut to them indoors sitting at a table, eating.

The scene then cut to them exiting the restaurant, getting inside the car, and driving off. The scene cut to the father and son in the woods, setting up camp, followed by a scene of them fishing by a river.

Then, they were sitting around the camp-fire at night, frying up the fish, followed by eating it and then them putting the fire out with a bucket of water...

And them turning into their tents for the night.

The scene cut to morning, with the boy getting out of his tent in his pajamas and going over to his Dad's tent, opening it... and finding it empty. The boy around for his Dad.

And then.. the scene cut to night-time in a marsh where a figure sinks the body of the boy in quicksand.

The film ended and Kyle was stunned.

What was a wholesome video through and through suddenly turned eerie, with horrifying imagery.

Had he not been so used to this sort of thing, had it not been so engulfed in his personality.. he would have been much more shaken at the terrible image.

He realized that he was camping. Just like the boy and his father. And it made him shudder, goosebumps forming.


	6. Chapter 6: Meeting Old Friends

The disturbing video Kyle had witnessed had still been playing back in his mind.

Seeing that poor young boy just.. be _a corpse._ If it was fake, it was one very convincing fake.

He had a terrible nightmare about it all. He could only remember it somewhat. He talked to the boy, but his skin was pale and his eyes were red. Lips dark. Like talking to a zombie in the fresh stage of decomposition. Kyle asked who the boy was in the dream, and the boy simply vanished.

The fact he was able to go on sleeping after that.. or sleep in a tent at all after the circumstances.. was a testament to his taste for danger.

As he awoke in his tent, he saw a new text from an unknown sender.

He opened it, being met with nothing else but a link.

Had it not been for the dangerous game he had been playing with the strange caller, he would've assumed it was spam. Instead, he clicked the link.

It was on the archives of a newspaper, dating all the way back to.. of course, 1950.

He was struggling to see much relevancy outside of the publishing date. It was an article about some old festival that had taken place.

Until he came across the pictures. It showcased different people in attendance.. and one of them was the same boy and his father.

Kyle gulped.

There was no doubt now. That video was from 1950, unless the article was somehow an incredibly well-made fake.

He scrolled desperately, reversed image searched, everything he could think of. He couldn't find anything on how these two males were.

He gave up after a while, prepared to stuff his phone back in his pocket before he received another text.

Of course, it was from an unknown sender.

_Get out of the tent. Get into your truck. Get out of the forest. Head for Oregon._

There they were. The same person who had been stalking him and calling him. Sending him orders through text, now.

"Maybe they got lazy." He scoffed under his breath.

Kyle got dressed and put his backpack on, heading deep into the forest.

He had always loved hiking. And he didn't have to play this game verbatim. He wanted to look around the scenery. It was something he always appreciated.

So, he decided to do just that. He could follow the game later.

He could see a river in the distance and he could just imagine it now. The forest in the backyard of his family farm-home. How he and Charlotte used to play and fish together there.

...

_In the forest of the backyard of his farm-home, 7-year old Kyle and 6-year old Charlotte ran through the wilderness, with Kyle a few feet ahead of her while she was trying to keep up. _

_Kyle sprinted around with his swim trunks as Charlotte joined him in her swimsuit. _

_They soon make it to their destination, the river, where they ran down to the dock, dropped their towels, kicked off their flip-flops, and then dived into the water. The two splashed each other with water and laughter filled the general area._

_"I totally beat you!" Kyle puffed his chest with his high pitched voice._

_Charlotte giggled and teasingly put her hand up to his face. "Nooo!"_

_"Prove it!" Kyle splashed some more water on her playfully._

_"I will!" Charlotte yelled out._

_Just then, it seemed that Kyle was suddenly pulled underwater._

_Charlotte stepped back, tilting her head in confusion. The young girl waited for her friend to emerge, but he didn't._

_Until finally, he sprung up behind her and had the water splashing all over them._

_He was flailing his arms all around. "Somethin's got me, somethin's got me!" He screeched. "Help me, summin's got my leg!" He cried out._

_Charlotte gasped with her mouth agape, but she was stopped before she could help him when Kyle was seemingly pulled back underwater._

_Charlotte frantically snapped her head around to try and find her friend. "Kyle? Kyle? Kyle?!" She screeched out. Her mouth began to tremble and her eyes watered, easily frightened at her young age._

_She looked down and began to splash around the water to try and find him, but Kyle suddenly swam behind her and leaped out of the water._

_"Roar!" He growled out as scarily as he could with his undeveloped voice._

_Charlotte screamed loudly in response, and then calmed him._

_"K-Kyle!" She crossed his arms and the water splashed as she dramatically moved away._

_"Hah! I got ya good! I scared ya, didn't I?" Kyle began to relentlessly tease her. "Again!" He taunted her and splashed. "Always get ya!"_

_"Don't scare me like thaaat." She drew out her voice and pouted as she crossed her arms._

_"You shoulda seen your face!" Kyle threw his head back in laughter. "You were so scared!"_

_"Was not!" Charlotte scoffed. They began to splash each other with water some more as they continued to laugh and play._

_..._

Kyle smiled at the memory.

It felt like the first time he had saw a place that truly reminded him of home since he began his journey. And of course, this only made him more determined to find his brother.

Maybe then, he could get a taste of that childhood innocence, that carefree spirit.

...

After a while of hiking, Kyle's mind began to drift off into more sinister areas.

He was crazy for still being here, he realized. Knowing there's a psycho-stalking-serial killer hunting him.

If this person wanted to kill him or dispose of his body, this was the perfect place to do it.

He probably wouldn't be found for a while. Even when he started rotting and stinking. Chances are, when or if someone found him, he would probably be just a skeleton with hair and clothes attached.

Despite realizing this, he ended up fishing for a while by the river. He hiked back up and took his sweet time, as if he was in no danger at all.

He had encountered his abusive father, was crossing paths with a probable serial killer, and saw footage of a 1950s father and son that resulted in death.

It was horrific, but so cool to him at the same time.

Not even in the movies did people experience so much adventure on one road trip.

He just smirked to himself. And upon arriving back at the campsite, he found it had been completely trashed.

The tent was torn up, bags and trash thrown around randomly.

Kyle squinted. Was this the stalker? Perhaps punishing him for not immediately following orders?

He didn't know, but he didn't bother to clean up the mess. He simply put the tent up and got ready to fry the bass he got from fishing. Clearly, he wasn't intimidated. If anything, it just made him look forward to more thrills. He finished eating and got inside the truck.

But once he sat down, he looked over to see the 1950 film casing gone and replaced with another.

"Woah.." he muttered, lifting the casing.

This one looked similar, but the date was "1961" instead.

He sat there and pondered over it.

How many tapes were there?

How did this stalker have so much access to this kind of stuff? No way had they been around that long. Impossible, he reasoned.

He was fascinated, disturbed, and excited to see what was on the tape. But for now, he just let it sit.

...

**Time since leaving Nevada: 7 hours and 30 minutes.**

Once again, Kyle had rebelled against what the stalker had said. He couldn't handle being subservient to anyone for too long. Following the stalker's orders to begin with was rebellion towards his mother, but he didn't wanna give into the stalker's demands t_oo _much.

Sure, he wanted to play the game. But he didn't wanna be seen as a submissive subject that would always do what was said.

Plus, what good was a road trip without a little sightseeing? Without doing things he'd always wanted to?

He'd get to Oregon, yes. That was his goal, where his brother was. But Oregon wasn't going anywhere. He decided he might as well live this road trip to the fullest in the meantime.

He found himself in Los Angeles, California. It was practically a cliche, but who wouldn't want to be in such a place? At least once, to see what it was like.

He found that L.A was scorching hot. And there was plenty of traffic. But there was no deadline, so he didn't stress it.

He parked his car and made sure his phone would take him to the location it was set in once he needed to leave. In the meantime, he did as he wanted.

It seemed to him that everyone in the city littered. The streets were sometimes a little gross. He had wondered if he glamorized the place too much. But the scenery really was nice outside of that. The smell of the hot summer sun and every person he passed seemingly wearing obnoxious cologne gave him mixed feelings, though.

He entered a Domino's Pizza place and it tasted far better than he remembered tasting in Kansas. Was L.A food always this good?

He got lost in just how good it was, sitting by himself for several minutes and taking everything in.

And then, a young voice behind him blurted out his name. "Kyle?"

Kyle slowly turned around to see 6- year old Colton. And his parents, Thersea and Ethan. The people he met at that Wizard of Oz amusement park four months ago.

Colton's blonde hair was a bit longer and past his neck. Thersea looked unchanged with her tan skin and dark brown hair going past her shoulders. Ethan looked the same, too, with his short dark hair.

"Oh, hey!" He smiled at them. "Really is a small world." He muttered and chuckled, waving at the boy and the couple as they followed their son, who had seemingly sprinted up to Kyle in excitement. Kyle ruffled his hair and chuckled at the young boy.

Kyle was surprised to see them. Yet elated, really. It was so nice to see friendly faces he was actually familiar with for the first time since his trip began. "What are you guys doing here?" He wondered.

"Ah, well we live around here these days." Thersea said. "What about you?" She smiled sweetly.

"I'm on a road trip, actually." Kyle laughed. "Looking for my brother."

The couple raised their brows. "Oh, I didn't know you had a brother." Thersea mused.

"Believe me." Kyle chuckled. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like I have one. My brother went off to college in 2018. Haven't seen or heard from the guy since."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Thersea frowned slightly.

"Yeah, family being broken up is awful." Ethan nodded, seeming extremely sympathetic.

Kyle paused, looking down and fidgeting with his food. "Ah, it's alright.." He wondered why he brought the issue up, when it somewhat bothered him if was discussed in the wrong way. But thankfully, he caught himself and looked back up at the family.

"Hey, uh. I imagine you guys are here to get a pizza or somethin', right?" He nodded.

"Yeah, we're actually-" Ethan spoke, but Kyle cut him off.

"How about you split mine? I probably got too much for myself anyway." Kyle laughed. "Saves money, right?"

...

The group ate their food and engaged in some small talk. It was probably the most at peace Kyle had actually felt through his trip.

"So.. what are you guys doing after this?" Kyle eventually wondered as he leaned over with a napkin and wiped pizza sauce off of Colton's mouth.

"We're gonna see an old friend of mine." Thersea gulped down her slice.

"Hmm.. maybe we can bring them some pizza, too?" Kyle raised a brow, practically inviting himself in on the journey. But he couldn't help it, he admittedly had been letting the lonely feeling get to him just a bit since the trip started.

Thankfully, the family seemed happy to let Kyle tag along.

...

Kyle and the others soon arrived at a suburban neighborhood and drove up to one of the homes. A typical house, not much different from the mid sized houses of the neighborhood.

Kyle grabbed the pizza as they walked to the door. Ethan knocked, and out stepped a woman with long fiery red hair and light eyes.

He knew who it was pretty quickly. Claire Davis. He remembered encountering her at the Oz amusement park with the others.

"Hey, guys!" Claire brightly smiled at the group. Then, her eyes shifted to Kyle. "Oh, hi. I remember you from the Oz park." She smiled and extended her hand to shake his. "What are you doing?" She smiled politely.

"I got pizza." Kyle lifted the box with his free hand and the group chuckled.

...

Claire let the group inside and they all began to chat at the table over pizza.

There was one more person who joined them. Claire's 17 year old nephew named Tommy.

Kyle remembered him, too. His blonde hair was the same length and not much had changed as he held an adult Beagle dog with a green and bone-shaped tag in his arms.

Over their lunch, Kyle had shared his story with the gang. All about the backstory with his family and why he was on his road trip.

As Kyle spoke, Claire noticed a purple bruise on Tommy's neck and frowned. "Hey.. do you mind if I ask what happened?" She eyed the bruise, gesturing toward it.

"Oh.." Kyle ghosted his fingers on his bruise for a moment. "My father." He scoffed.

The group seemed to have sad eyes in response, eyes that only grew sadder as Kyle explained all the details of what had happened with his father.

"Are you alright?" Claire frowned.

"I'm fine." Kyle said convincingly, brushing it off.

"Should we call the police, Kyle?" Ethan raised a brow with a concerned tone.

"No, no." Kyle cleared his throat. "Mom doesn't know I ran into him.. or that I spent the night with him.. or, ya know. Especially that.. he tried to kill me." He murmured. "Point is, I don't want to risk her finding this out on the news." Kyle stated.

The group seemed to understand and decided to back off.

"Hey, uh.. you could spend the night with us, maybe?" Tommy suddenly suggested.

"I. I mean. I don't wanna intrude.." Kyle said.

"No, it'd be fine. It's been days since you slept in a bed, right?" Claire asked.

"I.. I do miss laying in a bed." Kyle chuckled. "I can take a break and use a bed, sure." He smiled.

And a few hours later, Kyle found himself enjoying Tommy's company as they discussed various books and movies and played video games. Tommy seemed to be quiet, but their small talk was pleasant. And Kyle needed it after the vacant feeling of the road trip.

It was like a little sleep-over as they fell into slumber in their sleeping bags in the tent downstairs.

...

_11 year old Kyle was running through the Kansas carnival, desperate. If he ran more, it was as if he'd chase out his problems._

_He had just had a heated argument with his 1 year old brother. Kyle ran into his friend, 10 year old Charlotte. Who was with a 10 year old boy with long blonde hair past his neck, with blue eyes and a Beagle puppy by his side. He had a backpack on, too._

_"Kyle!" Charlotte beamed. "This is Tommy. And this is Copper." She pointed at the boy, and then the dog._

...

Kyle lunged up from the sleeping bag.

"What the.." he murmured to himself, looking around the tent.

He squinted, realizing he was in the tent with an asleep Tommy.

What was the dream he had about it? What did that entail?

It was such a quick dream. And yet it felt so... _real_. Like playing back a memory, similar to the dream he had had when he was with his father.

"Wait..."

Was it possible he and Charlotte knew Tommy a lot longer than just these past four months?

He had no idea, but something in his consciousness wanted to say yes.


	7. Chapter 7: Michael

**Time since leaving California: 11 hours and 49 minutes.**

The day after Kyle stayed with Tommy and Claire, he found himself eager to get to Oregon after a proper night's sleep in a bed.

Despite Claire's offers, it was more of a sleeping bag, but still. It was comfy enough and he couldn't pass on that childlike moment.

He was still feeling somewhat dazed from his dream. Small talk was all he could manage, and he didn't know how to bring it up to Tommy. Luckily, he had his number and decided he could bring it up after he had bid his goodbye's to Tommy and Claire. Now, he needed to find his brother.

Finally, he could see it in the distance. Oregon University College. It was a big, yet dull looking brown building.

Kyle could feel his chest tighten. Was this it? Finally it? The day he'd reunite with his brother?

Not quite.

He marched around all over campus and asked everyone he knew. No one seemed to have a clue what he was talking about except one of the professors.

"Do you mean Michael? Well, he's in Mississippi these days. I believe he said he was going to reside in Bolivar County, I think it was."

Kyle was stunned. Oregon had been his hot spot all this time, the place he was expecting to be the finishing point.

It seemed this road trip would go on a bit longer, which both disappointed and excited him.

...

**Time since leaving Oregon: 37 Hours and 51 minutes**

Kyle hadn't slept since he left, which was dangerous. But he didn't care. He was so close to finding his brother.

Finally, he arrived in the state of Mississippi.

He felt odd. Now this, this was maybe where he'd find his brother at last.

But it was so strange. The stalker who had been sending him cryptic phone calls, messages, and film-casings had all but vanished. And Kyle had never gotten a chance to check out the "1961" film casings.

He knew from horror books and horror films that it was a never good sign when the stalker stopped hunting his or her prey. It was a sign that meant the stalker was probably planning to have that face to face confrontation with Kyle.

But he wasn't afraid of that. If anything, he was deeply excited to finally confront this person. It gave him a rush, the idea.

Kyle continued to drive around town, not giving much more thought towards the stalker. He was completely focused on his brother.

Kyle drove around town, asking people if they know someone named Michael Lance Martin, but none of them knew.

It was a small area, so hopefully he'd run into someone eventually, he reasoned.

But hours passed, and the sun was just beginning to go down.

Kyle was just about to give up asking anybody else when a man across from him suddenly spoke up.

"I know a Michael Lance Martin.." A man with a sick southern accent called out. "Know where he lives, too."

Slowly, Kyle turned around.

The man seemed to be a drug addict or something, face looking prematurely aged with a messy long beard, a tattered beanie, and yellow teeth.

Kyle squinted, mouth agape. Was this it?! Was this man screwing with him? He needed answers immediately. He couldn't wait.

"Woah.." Kyle hurriedly approached the man. "Woah, woah, woah... you know... how do you know my brother? And.. and where he lives?" Kyle was frantic, shaky.

"Hey, hey. Woah, now. Slow your horses." The man muttered, voice hoarse as he coughed. "He's a friend o' mine. Lives in the Mississippi Haunted Swamp.."

Kyle immediately scrunched up his face. "Haunted Swamp? Why in the world would my brother be living in a place called Haunted Swamp? Why is it called Haunted Swamp?" Kyle put his hands on his hips, his frantic nature and eagerness clearly not wearing down any time soon.

"Well... word o' mouth states that the place is inhabited by the ghosts of of the children that the mud-monsters. The mud monsters drag 'em down into the marsh. 's why people stay away from it." The man said, waving his hands around in an over dramatic tone as if he didn't believe the story.

Kyle took a few moments to process the story, slowly nodding. It sounded so absurd. "Well... thanks. Do you know where it is?"

The man seemed to be shocked and slowly opened his eyes wide. "You wanna go?" He pointed a wrinkly finger at Kyle. "Usually when I tell that there story kids, they get out of their way to avoid it. Not go into it!"

"Well, I'm not those kids. I don't run away from dangers and risks." Kyle scoffed and shrugged.

The man just looked at him, slowly nodding. "Well.. just to keep goin' straight along this countryside here.. and you won't miss the swamp. Looks real creepy, an old spooky farmhouse near it."

Kyle thanked the man, and was soon enough driving off.

...

It was a little under twenty minutes later when he found a dirt road to his right after going straight down the countryside for what seemed like forever. It was dangerous to even believe an old man like that in a place he had never been, but Kyle was Kyle about it.

But there it was, as the man described. Old spooky farmhouse next to a creepy swamp.

"Haunted Swamp, eh?" Kyle squinted and nodded.

Kyle stopped his truck and just went straight in.

...

He came across an old shack-like house on four wooden pillars in a green, thick, pool-sized peat bog. He also noticed a familiar yellow car. A vehicle he hadn't seen in over seven years. This was the same car his brother left in when he went off to college in 2018. There was no doubting it.

"Oh my.. wow.. oh, wow.." he slowly muttered with a shocked expression.

His heart raced, feeling full and nervous all at once.

Was this it? Had it been this easy? Finding his brother?

This had to be it. His own brother's house. _Wow._

And then suddenly, it all felt too real.

He took a few minutes to reflect on everything that had happened on this road trip days ago.

Leaving Kansas, being stalked, running into his father that tried to kill him, seeing that tape in the woods, L.A, running into those old friends, and seeing the university. And traveling all the way up here.

And now, he was here. To see his brother.

He had no idea how his brother would react, and he gulped at that. It made him all the more nervous.

He had been so determined, but he was so afraid of the reaction he'd get now that he stayed frozen in his tracks. He had built this moment up in his mind so long that he didn't know what to do now.

He felt a sudden weight wash over him. But he had to do this. He couldn't quit now, he had come this far and was so desperate.

Slowly, an accomplished grin spread across his face. He had really done it. He was tempted to call his mother. Both to gloat because of what a long shot it seemed to be to her. But mostly because this was the closest they could get to a normal family now. They could finally be happy and _together._

But he opted not to, considering he promised he wouldn't go out and find Michael.

Then again.. maybe she'd forget that once she was overjoyed to see her son once again.

"Ah, no use debating to myself." Kyle muttered.

He chewed his lips, realizing he was stalling. Flirting with death was one thing, but somehow this got his nerves in a frenzy.

Slowly, he climbed each step. When he reached the porch, he felt like a video game character reaching a goal sign.

He took a deep breath, hand trembling as he reached over to knock on the door.

Finally, he forced himself to give out a few knocks.

But there was no response.

He sighed, becoming more outwardly eager now.

He knocked again, still no response.

"Oh, whatever." Kyle huffed. The emotion of the moment was thwarted as he was now just frustrated and ancy.

He reached for door knob and surprisingly... it opened.

He stumbled. "Woah.." he murmured, not expecting to be let in so easily.

As he entered the house, he didn't even bother closing the door.

He was surprised. The inside reminded him a lot of his father's shack of a house in Utah. In fact, it gave him the same uneasy feeling. There were red plastic cups and empty beer bottles scattered all over the floor, like the aftermath of a party.

Kyle kept walking, slowly entering a living room. It seemed to be in the same shape as the rest of the house.

"Well..." came a male voice that made Kyle flinch. He turned to see a mini-bar.

"Daddy's little boy returns." Came the voice from behind the bar.

"Mikey?" Kyle called out, voice shaky.

"Why are you here?" Michael asked.

"I.. I came here to find you." Kyle shook his head, stunned. He was really talking to his brother again after all this time.

Kyle heard a scoff. "Look at me, Ky." Michael said lowly as he stood up from behind the bar, revealing himself.

His blue eyes were twitching. He had long, messy fiery red hair going down to his neck.

He was skinnier, looking almost ten years older than Kyle remembered him.

Seemed like a drug addict, just like the man Kyle had seemed.

"Kyle... this place is no place for little kids."

Just then, the sound of vehicles could be heard from outside.

"They're here.." Michael stated, almost devoid of emotion. "Go home. With our mother."

Kyle caught a lump in his throat. "I... Michael. I came all this way." He subtly shook his head. "No, I can't.."

"Do you want me to beat you down like I used to when we were kids? Leave now before it's too late!" Michael exclaimed, getting more obvious with the emotions now.

Kyle became more emotional with his brother. "No, no, no. I won't. If you run away again, I'll keep searching until I find you again!"

"Can you not see that I hate your guts?" Michael immediately spat out. "You were always his favorite, always!"

Kyle knew he was referring to their father.

"You always got his attention." Michael scoffed again. "The only time I ever got his attention was when he was criticizing me or beating me up."

"Mikey.. I know, 's kinda why I'm here. I.. I wanna patch things up with you."

Michael quickly shot down Kyle's offer. "It's too late for us to have a relationship. Go back home. Forget about me."

Michael was shutting him down, but Kyle could swear there was a pain in Mikey's eyes. Like he didn't mean it. Like it was just what his brother felt he had to do.

"You know what? If I can't convince you.." Kyle swallowed. "Mom will. I'm gettin' my phone. I'll tell her everything." Kyle turned, and Michael yelled.

"Kyle, no! They're out there, it's dangerous!" Michael screamed, sounding concerned for his younger sibling.

"Dangerous." Kyle scoffed, yanking the door open and sprinting down the steps.

Outside, Kyle could see a few trucks of dark colors speeding away.

Kyle just rolled his eyes, scoffing. This was the danger his brother was warning him about?

"KYLE, RUN! THEY-!"

Suddenly, the house was engulfed in flames and a massive explosion overtook the scene. The house practically blew up right behind Kyle, who was knocked back from the impact.


	8. Chapter 8: The Asylum

**Several months later.**

**December 26th, 2025**

"Kyle. Kyle. Hey, Kyle, wake up. Come on, it's almost 7:30." A 10-year old boy with blue eyes and long, wavy wheat brown hair that stops at his neck was urging Kyle.

The boy wore a blue robe, pajamas and house-shoes as he stood in the doorway of the creepy room, with the only light being a bulb hanging from the ceiling.

Kyle always hated being woken up before he was really ready to get out of bed.

But he finally opened his eyes, sat up in his bed, and looked at the wheat brown-haired boy known as Dean Fen standing in the doorway (_with __**way **__too much excitement on his face for this early in the morning._)

"I'll meet ya down there.. gimme five minutes."

Months had passed since his road trip.

And there were still so many unanswered questions.

Who was the man who was following him? Who killed his brother, and why?

He could still remember the sounds of the engines. Those damned vehicles had sped off and before Kyle knew it, his brother's house had exploded. And his brother had died.

It was as if the road trip was merely the universe's cruel way of guiding him to be a spectator of his brother's demise.

He had succumbed to less serious injuries, and his mother had of course been furious that Kyle lied about his intentions about the road trip. But even more so, distraught over her son's fate.

Kyle had a hard time processing it. He spoke to no one, staying locked in his room until his mother insisted he needed help.

Therapy led nowhere, and his mental health was only worsening.

Eventually, he turned to drugs. Pills to numb the pain. Three times a day, as if they were his daily meals.

One night, he mixed them with some beer and overdosed. Charlotte found him and took him to the hospital. A presumed suicide attempt. And here he was.

A "correctional facility." Or "the looney bin", as he liked to call it.

He had spent months in the facility. The only thing that made him wish he were back in the standard, traditional therapy sessions his mother had first put him in.

At least it wasn't totally lonely there. He and this "Dean" kid had ended up being friendly. And that's where Kyle would actually get to find some excitement in the god-forsaken place. The rush of getting caught when they snuck around the place after hours was nice.

And that wasn't to say it was all bad. He was starting to feel normal again. He could think about things other than his brother. He could speak to people. It still hurt like hell, especially with so many unanswered questions.

It left a gaping hole in his heart, looking for that closure only to end with ten times the mourning. But at least he felt a little sane now.

He just wished he could go back to normal life. He didn't believe there was much more they could do. How could one ever fully recover from the death of their brother? At least he was functional now. What else did he need?

Kyle realized he had been musing for too long. That Dean was waiting on him. He put on his pj's and violet red robe.

Soon enough, he was sneaking around the eerie doorway and opening up the door. He made sure he kept the handle turned as he shut it after slipping through. The male tip-toed down the stairs and walked through the other door quickly as the first. At the end of the hall, he saw Dean waiting for him. He noticed Kyle and started waving at him to hurry up, with a huge smile on his face... like always.

Dean was always in such a great mood. Kyle wondered how Dean could remain in high spirits. Kyle was aching for adventure. Especially after so much mourning.

Kyle grabbed a white card off of the desk at the end of the room, placing it over the strike-plate so it wouldn't latch.

The building was huge, and Kyle noticed it more and more every time he snuck out. It almost resembled a castle.

Kyle and Dean snuck around the now dimly lit cafeteria. They grabbed a metal plate and helped themselves to the ice cream they had taken.

Dean had been the only person Kyle connected with all his group therapy sessions in the asylum, but he had never taken the time to learn his whole story.

"Ya know, you never told me what your deal is." Kyle mumbled as he gulped down his ice cream. "You know mine. I don't know yours."

"Hm?" Dean muttered as they feasted.

"Like, why you're here." Kyle clarified.

Dean paused and shrugged. "Well.." His voice was slightly muffled from feasting on the ice cream. "..bounced around from institution to institution for all my childhood. Anger issues n' stuff."

"I can't imagine wasting my childhood on exploring different asylums." Kyle muttered bluntly. "How do you stay so positive?" He asked more clearly.

"The right meds and doctors bein' nice enough, I guess." Dean shrugged, clearly more interested in his ice cream. "I didn't stay long at most the other places.." He paused from his ice cream, giving a look of reflection. "I guess they didn't know what to do with me. But the docs here have really started to figure me out. And you help keep me sane." The boy smiled.

Kyle smiled at that, and they had soon finished their treats. Kyle hoped people wouldn't catch on to the pattern. Twice a day, 7:30 a.m, and 7:30 p.m, the pair would sneak out to steal a few scoops of ice cream.

Kyle waved to the boy, going back to his bed where he felt lost in his own thoughts. Left to wonder how his mother and his friends were doing.

….

The next day, Kyle was in a room strapped to a chair in a straight jacket, with a female therapist. He was in the middle of one of his sessions. Something that all patients there did everyday. His days consisted of group counseling, individual counseling, art hour, board-game hour, TV-time, ice-cream meals, and more.

Kyle spoke about his home-life as a kid, growing up with a Dad who favored him, as well as growing up with a bully brother, who was abused by his Dad, his Dad, leaving in 2017 when he was 9, his Mom getting a boyfriend who hated Kyle, and his brother leaving the year after to attend college in Oregon and never coming back.

He spoke about his mother coming to see him once a week, which was much as she was allowed. He spoke of his resentment of his father. How, despite so much praise about how Kyle was the favorite child, he never bothered to visit his son.

Kyle's mother though, she was everything to him. He made that clear. She had stood by his side in every possible way. Not only through the entire current mess...but his entire life. He fawned over her, how she was the most amazing, loving woman in the world. It broke Kyle's heart knowing that she was all alone. Her first son died and his body was never recovered. And her second son had been institutionalized for several months now. Kyle tried not to think about all that though.

A routine is what kept him sane. He kept himself busy, and in addition to the daily activities the staff has scheduled for them each day, he has his own schedule written in here as well. That left his free time quite limited. If he wasn't in a class or counseling session, he was either exercising, writing, talking to Dean, or having ice-cream with Dean. He still had no clue how most of the people could just sit around watching TV in the evening without a care in the world. That was not enough to occupy Kyle's attention.

The therapist listened to Kyle speak about his troubles, slowly nodding.

"Well, you're doing a great job at expressing your emotions. And you are showing a lot of improvement. Keeping busy is a much healthier coping mechanism than turning to drugs." She smiled warmly at him.

"Oh, well.. good." Kyle smiled. Maybe this was it. The segway into what he wanted. Getting out.

"There's something that concerns me, though." She stated.

Kyle perked up the best he could with his restraints. "..Uh. Oh?" He wondered if this could be about sneaking around with Dean.

She nodded slowly. "I understand that.. every afternoon, you spend two hours at the TV. The only amount of time you ever spend at it. And you always watch the same thing. Return to Oz. And you.. stay glued. Your peers ask you to turn it off because they have to see it every day. But you ignore them. And you're unresponsive to the staff. I and many others have taken a notice. Your stare at the television is almost vacant. It is akin to.. some sort of daily ritual."

Kyle shifted uncomfortably. "Gee, I mean.. I don't watch it that much. I don't think. Not every day."

"I'm afraid I've tallied it. You've watched it 38 times since you've been here, and that's only since I started counting. What is it about this particular film that interests you?" She asked, leaning forward a bit.

He gulped. "Um.."

Kyle wasn't sure how to respond. He had seen a few Wizard of Oz centered things as a kid, but never thought much of it since. It had been one of the movies they had in their selection, and he found himself connecting with the darkness of it. But especially the escapism. A lost person fleeing to a magical land after they've been in a strange institution. It brought on nice fantasies. And it seemed the staff had taken notice. But did he really watch it that much? And was he so hypnotized he ignored what everyone said as he watched it?

Suddenly, the therapist's phone dinged. "Oh, dear. I'm going to be late for my next session. Keep this in mind for next time, will you? This is very important to discuss, I believe." She said as she slowly stood up and helped Kyle out of his restraints.

Kyle sighed. Maybe he really was a bit crazy.


End file.
